Susan Scarf Merrell (b.1959) is an American author, editor, and educator known for her novels, essays, and literary criticism. Her work explores family dynamics, psychological suspense, and historical fiction, earning her recognition in contemporary literature.
Born in Palo Alto, California, Merrell studied at Cornell University and earned an MFA from Bennington College. She teaches in the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton and has served as fiction editor of The Southampton Review. She co-founded the BookEnds Fellowship, a novel revision program with Meg Wolitzer.
Notable works include The Accidental Bond: How Sibling Connections Influence Adult Relationships (1997,) a nonfiction study of sibling relationships; A Member of the Family (2001,) a novel on family secrets; and Shirley: A Novel (2014,) a fictionalized account of Shirley Jackson’s life, adapted into a film starring Elisabeth Moss.
Merrell’s essays and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Tin House, The Washington Post, and The Southampton Review. Her writing blends psychological depth with literary craftsmanship, making her a respected voice in modern fiction and nonfiction.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Susan Scarf Merrell
Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk.
—Susan Scarf Merrell
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